MIPCOM: Warner Bros. Discovery Int’l President Gerhard Zeiler to Give Opening Keynote
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Gerhard Zeiler, president of international, Warner Bros. Discovery, will give the opening keynote at this year’s MIPCOM international television trade fair in Cannes.
Zeiler will kick off the event with a fireside chat Monday, Oct. 16. The 39th MIPCOM runs through Oct. 19.
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The veteran European media executive was honored at the conference back in 2004, when he was still CEO of German media giant RTL Group, and was named MIPCOM’s personality of the year.
As Warner Bros. Discovery’s international boss, Zeiler is expected to share how the studio has managed its post-merger transformation and outline the group’s global content and streaming strategy. Zeiler took over as president of international at WB in 2020 and extended his remit across Discovery Inc. in April 2022, after the close of the Discovery/WarnerMedia merger. In his position, he has strategic oversight for WBD brands and joint responsibility for the company’s direct-to-consumer operations, including streaming service Max, across more than 220 international markets and is responsible for WBD’s local theatrical productions and acquisitions, as well as country and region-specific networks and businesses across Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific regions.
“Our industry is facing heightened disruption and undergoing a process of transformation,” said Zeiler. “These are times of change but it’s also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to architect the media ecosystem for the next generation. I’m looking forward to speaking at MIPCOM about how WBD is putting storytelling first and refining and innovating to drive agility and flexibility to emerge in an even stronger position.”
“With the industry at a pivotal point and global companies re-inventing for a new era…we could not have a more relevant creative leader to be our opening Media Mastermind Keynote,” noted MIPCOM director Lucy Smith. “His presence at MIPCOM Cannes is a rare opportunity for entertainment execs to go inside the international strategy at the heart of one of the world’s biggest and fastest-evolving studios. A valued and hugely respected contributor to the market over several decades, his perspective on weathering such storms will be invaluable.”
The global television industry is expected to again descend on Cannes in October for MIPCOM 2023, with most major studios and independent giants — including WBD, Disney, Paramount Global Content Distribution, NBCUniversal International, Amazon MGM Studios Distribution, Banijay Rights, Fremantle, Fox Entertainment Global, Studiocanal and ITV Studios — already confirmed to attend.
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